Equalism
The philosophy of Equalism can trace its roots to at least the beginning of the Arcasan Revolution. The name comes from the book'' Equalism: A Tale of Folk Riht'' written by Harry Atan, a former republican soldier in the Arcasan Revolution. Common among all the schools of thought is the call for more government intervention in the economy, the welfare of citizens, and equality, with the degree varying between schools. Background Harry Atan was the second child of Hilbert and Gulia Atan in Arcas on 8 Loyver, 1413 AE. Hilbert was a successful lawyer under the monarchy who dotted on his children, but especially Harry. Harry and his sisters received an extensive education from their mother Gulia, a Galric woman from a family of priests. Gulia ensured that her children received a very good education in math, science, literature, languages, grammar, history and many other fields. The family was only slightly affected by Frod's reign. Harry was sent to the Royal Arcas University of Law on 1430 where he became acquainted with republicanism. Atan participated in the riots in 1433 AE that led to the take over of the city. While Hilbert preferred neutrality, he recurrently supported his son and approved of his wish to join the republican army. Atan enlisted as a common soldier, as he stated “I was filled with a glorified version of war and wanted to experience it as its most base level.” He served under Smith until 4 RE/1437 AE when he was wounded at the Second Battle of Fayoak Forest. Atan returned from the war a changed man. He was colder and a radical. Before his service Atan had identified himself as a supporter of the conservatives who pushed for a summit with the monarchy. Atan's beliefs became clear after his publication of Equalism, in 5RE/1438 AE shortly after he had earn his law degree. The book was a huge financial success, not because of its content (more radical books had been published during the war), but a mixture of its frankness and the support it received from several powerful members of the Arcas Assembly. The book advocated an equal and free society for people who had a contract with the state. Atan argued that all people would never be able to work for the benefit of the whole if they did not have a government to ensure a fair system. He reasoned that people would of course advocate a fair and equal system, but would hesitate in implementing it. The government would serve as an agent in this medium, in theory it would be given as much power as it needed to act in the greater good because it was constrained by the people, but free enough from them that it would be able to effectively guide society down the right path. This hodgepodge earned Atan support from both the Liberal and Conservative leaders of the republic and his favorable mentions toward Vyr earned him support from his priesthood. While it has not been proven, many argue that this book and its statement that the monarch must “either forfeit his title or his life for society to truly prosper.” helped lead to the trial and execution of Frod. Social Justice The more aggressive, yet moderate of the original two schools. The Social Justice school of Equalism argues for the gradual change of state toward Equalism, but also advocates for justice for the poor and often more willing to advocate more extreme measures to achieve such as the execution of Frod or putting monopolist on trial for economic crimes. The school has moderated itself over the years, but still retains overtones of it. They advocate three absolute rights that most equalist schools have also adopted: "Education, Healthcare, and Protection." Social Justice believes that equality is to treat all men equally and to to give them equal chances to succeed. They feel that each should person in an equalist society should have a position that is proportional to their ability and should be compensated according to their contribution. A police officer or doctor should earn more than a banker or stock broker because the former contribute more to society than the latter. At the same time, a foreman or manager should earn more than a line worker because they do more work in the grand scheme of things, but they should not too much more than the line workers as the workers still contribute a great deal to the production. Many modern day nations have political parties based on Social Justice. It also boasts the oldest political party with equalist roots in the Folk Riht Group of Arcas (FRG). The FRG itself traces its roots to several equalist officials of the Arcas Assembly that ruled Arcas during the Revolution. Equalism The more radical and pacifistic school. The Equalists distinguish themselves from the Social Justice school in that it argues for a more immediate change, but to forgive those who acted against equality and the people on the grounds that they could not fight against their base instincts without help from the state. Equalists believe that equality is to ensure that all people are equal. No one should have more or less than anyone else. A man cannot be blamed for all his failings because of nothing can be truly accounted for. A fire that destroy a man's attempts at success is hardly his fault (as long as he did not set the fire). They believe that the government should ensure that all men are equal regardless of faults because no man is worth more or less than any other and as long as he is willing to work, he should be rewarded the same as other men. They agree that not all people are equal, but that is not their fault and they should not be held accountable if they are not as a swift, as strong, or as smart as another. Equalists boast the second oldest equalist party, the Equalist Group of Arcas (EGA). The EGA is almost as old as the FRG, and if they had been a little quicker in organizing might have been the first. The EGA can also trace its roots back to members of the Arcas Assembly from the Arcasan Revolution. Paritism A school of thought developed in the sixteenth century by Theod Sutton and Hadwin Fawcett. They designed this theory to update Equalism with the industrialization of Arcas. While industrialization was present in Atan's time, it was not as widespread or unequal as it was in the sixteenth century. The two published ''Paritism: The Folk Way ''in 1516. The book was revolutionary in its message, it claimed that economic as well as political redistribution was necessary. The book claimed that the only way for the lower class to be truly be free was for the workers to own the means of production. The central question of the book was "If people are entitled to keep what they create, then why do workers not own the goods that they make?" The book claimed that most of the current social inequality was because of the unequal wealth distribution that blatantly favored the upper class at the expense of the lower class. It also made a number of claims against commonly accepted parts of society such as claiming that the middle class was an illusion and that it was instead two parts. The upper part of the lower class that was tricked into believing that it had power and the lower part of the upper class that had been deluded into believing that it was among the better off of society. Sarikism Created by Nicephorus Phoras in an attempt to improve and update Atan's Equalism with the sixteenth century rapid industrialisation. In many respects it is similar to Paritism, but whereas Paritism is more extreme, Sarikism is more moderate. It takes many of the Social Justice thoughts and seeks to place them in a more capitalistic setting. It supports the three "rights" of social justice: Education, Healthcare, and Protection, but seeks to implement them into a free market with a strong government to regulate it and strong unions to ensure protection of employees. Wages are set by negotiation between business, unions, and government rather than being set by law to allow economic flexibility. Significant funding is given toward social programs, often leaving other institutions such as defense smaller. Tax burdens also tend to be higher under this model to pay for the various public expense incurred by the system.